By Spencer Alyson, AFRO Intern
and Alexis Taylor, AFRO News Editor
Ataylor@afro.com
Community residents spoke with the AFRO at water distribution centers this week after a large portion of West Baltimore was put under a boil water advisory (BWA).
The notice came on Sept. 5 after the Department of Public Works (DPW) detected E.coli bacteria in the water while conducting routine testing. Residents are advised to boil all water for at least one minute before use.
“Finding out that you can’t drink the water- that is a big inconvenience because we do everything with water,” said Celia Morton, an affected Baltimore resident. “It’s just difficult.”
Morton spoke with the AFRO after a long day at work and said picking up water to brush her teeth and wash her face was not a part of her original plans for the day.
“They need to get this done quick and fast. They need to purify this water as soon as possible,” she said, after visiting a drive-thru operation set up at the Landsdowne Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library.
Trudy Hall said her experience varied from location to location, but the workers at the Baltimore County location were efficient and polite.
“It was pleasant , everybody moved pretty quickly , it’s only a minute or two wait,” said Hall. “The gentlemen were very ,very nice.”
On Sept. 6 DPW announced the new hours for water distribution as 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. They also tweeted that they increased the ration from one to three gallons of water per household.
The water will be distributed at the following three locations: Harlem Park Elementary/Middle School at 1401 W. Lafayette Ave., Middle Branch Park at 3301 Waterview Ave. and the Landsdowne Branch of the Baltimore County Library, located at 500 3rd Ave.
DPW first relayed the message about the contaminated tap water via social media using their official Twitter account at 7:43 a.m. on Labor Day:
“DPW has sampled several locations in City Council District 9: 1503 W. Lafayette Ave. (Fire Dept. Engine 8) and Police facilities at 1034 N. Mount St, 920 N. Carey St where total coliform, E.coli contaminants have been identified in the water.”
DPW tweeted that their workers are “flushing the system continuously and performing leak detection, valve assessments, and increasing the chlorination in the area. City Fire, Police, Office of Emergency Management, and MDE have been notified, provided representatives, and are engaged with DPW.”
The department said that residents “may want to consider boiling any water used from faucets.”
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott updated the public in a press conference broadcast live from his Facebook account on the evening of Sept. 5.
“On the third of September we were notified of a possible positive test and immediately had the specimen retested for confirmation per emergency protocol,” said Scott. “Once DPW received confirmation the public was notified.”
“At this time we do not know the source of the contamination, but I can assure you that we are working actively to determine the exact extent of the issue, identify the source and resume the delivery of clean water to our residents in the impacted area.”
Scott said that only a small area is actually affected by the positive tests, but “out of an abundance of caution” the area under advisory was widened to include a larger portion of Baltimore City and Baltimore County.
Residents immediately began to respond to the DPW’s Sept. 5 tweet with concerns about the suggestion to boil water instead of clear, strong language about the contamination. Many asked if water in other parts of the city was safe and if so, how only one section of Baltimore could be affected.
Some residents criticized Mayor Scott for waiting to alert residents of the potential issue until he confirmed there was a real problem.
The Baltimore water crisis comes years after the Flint. Mich. debacle and in the middle of the disaster currently playing out in Jackson, Miss., where a boil notice advisory went into effect over a month ago. Severe flooding took out the water treatment plant there, leaving residents completely reliant on bottled water.
“I didn’t think it was ever going to hit us here,” said Wanda Berry, picking up clean water for her household.
For those not on Twitter and Facebook, the news came late.
“My sister came and got me, [she] called me and told me about it because I didn’t know,” said 71-year-old Sharon Booker, shortly after receiving her case of water.
Booker wasn’t able to get a case of water at the Middle Branch Park location on Sept. 6 because she did not have her own car. As DPW workers were only giving one case per car, residents who were helping the elderly without transportation were forced to drive to multiple locations to get a case for their own household .“I told them this was God’s water. The water belongs to God. I’ve been living in Cherry Hill for 71 years and it’s just not fair.”
Booker said that “many times, living in Cherry Hill, the water might be brown for a day or two,” and the answer was to just boil it.
The water contamination is now impacting how she will eat.
“I like to cook. I can switch in the kitchen blindfolded. I’m not a fast food eater and I don’t have the money to be eating out,” said Booker. Besides, she quipped, “how will they wash the food that they’re going to serve us?”
If exposed to contaminated water, call a healthcare provider. For more information, contact 331 or 410-545-6541.
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